


So He Wove A Subtle Web, In A Little Corner Sly

by TeamImprov



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016) Whump, Car Accident, Gen, Mac+Fallout+Jack Rewrite, Murdoc is Murdoc, Protective Jack Dalton (MacGyver 2016), Shock Collar Prompt, Worried Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), episode rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2020-09-24 04:44:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20352595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamImprov/pseuds/TeamImprov
Summary: Episode Rewrite, Mac+Fallout+Jack. There was a blinding pain when their SUV was hit; everything swirled dangerously around Mac as he tried to stay conscious. “We have got to stop meeting this way, MacGyver.” Then darkness, and when Mac wakes up once more, he is trapped in an underground bunker with Jack and has a strange collar around his neck. This can’t be good…





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from @anguishmacgyver on tumblr: Shock collar that goes off every once in a while, rendering him incapable of turning it off or MacGyvering his way out of a difficult situation!

Mac smiled when he opened his front door to find Jack standing in the entryway, decked out in a black suit, fedora, and arms loaded with way too many duffle bags for one three-day trip to Vegas. 

“What are you doing, man?” Jack said, pushing past Mac and depositing the bags on the floor. His arms came up exasperatedly as his eyes took in Mac who was definitely not wearing his own suit as requested. “We’re gonna be late, why ain’t you dressed yet?” 

“I didn’t realize our time off had a ticking clock attached to it.” Mac chuckled. 

“You may not be on Matty’s time anymore, homie, but you are on Jack’s time now.” Jack said, pointing to his watch. 

“I thought we agreed not to talk about ourselves in the third person?” Mac said. “If I remember correctly it was one of the very first things we discussed.” 

“You may choose to live your life like that but you know who hasn’t?” Jack asked. 

“Jack.” Mac rolled his eyes. 

“Jack.” Jack said at the same time. “Now come on, man, get in that room and change into your suit. Don’t make me come in there.”

“Now I see what this is really about,” Mac said, pretended to sulk as he made his way to his bedroom. “You just wanted me to let you plan this trip so you could become a dictator.” 

“And you fell for the oldest trick in the book, homie.” Jack smiled wide as he lifted his arms wide. “I thought you were supposed to be smart?” 

“I’ll show you smart.” Mac said under his breath but loud enough so Jack would definitely be able to hear. 

“What was that, slick?” Jack asked, turning his head and pointing to his ear. 

“What, did you say something?” Mac said innocently before closing his bedroom door. 

“I didn’t catch that?” Jack said through the door. 

“Sorry, I can’t hear you.” Mac yelled, smiling a little as he heard Jack muttering under his breath as we walked back to the kitchen. 

It was nice to be able to banter with Jack like that. It felt like there had been something…off…about their relationship since Mac decided he was going to permanently stay at the Phoenix Foundation. Jack hadn’t said anything to him, but to be honest, that was kind of the worst part. Jack was always an open book around Mac. It wasn’t even just that Jack hadn’t been going on as many missions with them anymore, it was that even when they were out there together there was something off about the rhythm they had developed having worked with each other for so long. 

Mac knew it was his fault. He shouldn’t have left like that, or he should have at least kept in better contact with his family – especially Jack. He didn’t want to admit it but there was a part of him that was hurt that they let him go so easily. Mac knew his team loved him just as much as he loved them, and they gave him space because they thought that’s what he needed, but there was a tiny part of him that wished at least one of them – at least Jack – had said screw you to his father and left with him. 

That was so unfair. They shouldn’t have to put their careers, their futures, in jeopardy just because Mac needed to escape to literally the other side of the world in order to get his shit together. 

He knew it wasn’t fair to wish that on Riley or Bozer, but he had gotten so used to Jack sticking by his side through everything, following him to the ends of the earth and back again, that he had just assumed that would be their default setting forever. That wasn’t the case, clearly. Jack had other responsibilities other than him, he knew that, and Mac knew Jack would never be able to leave Riley again, but it still hurt nonetheless. 

He was always a secondary character in everyone else’s lives. James was Oversight and had every other agent in the Phoenix to oversee. He had left because Mac wasn’t the most important thing in his life, couldn’t be, and the easiest thing to do was go. Riley had Jack, her mom, Billy, a budding relationship with her grandmother, and a healing relationship with her dad. Bozer had Leanna, Matty had had Ethan, and Jack, and again, every other agent in the Phoenix under her command. Jack had Riley. 

Mac had all of them, but only as long as he was there. He hadn’t left to see who would follow him, he had to get away from the stifling control his own father had commanded over his entire life, but leaving had shown him what he always knew. Maybe, when he and Jack had come back from Afghanistan and Jack followed him back to LA, brought him into DXS, and they had only had each other Jack would have at least tried to go with him. But now, if Mac walked out that door he knew he was walking out alone. 

And now he didn’t know how to explain to them why he left in the first place. They all took it hard, like he was abandoning them the same way his father did to him all those years ago, but that wasn’t it at all. It physically pained him to think about it like that.

They watched him go through hell for an entire year looking for his dad, watched him fall apart at the seams, and yet he had been expected to immediately forgive and move on when they were finally reunited. He just couldn’t do that and he didn’t know why. He was trying so hard to make things work, to put a lifetime’s worth of pain in the rear view and move on as if that gaping hole in his life had never existed. 

They didn’t even try to understand. 

Mac spent a lot of effort putting up a brave front. It was a necessity when he constantly asked other people to put their complete trust in his hands, and he worked very hard to be a steady rock for others to lean on, but it was getting tougher. He could feel the wall he put around his heart crumbling and little bits of the pain sneaking through. 

It wouldn’t hurt to just talk to Jack on this trip, the rational part of his brain supplied as he stripped out of his regular clothes and put on his dark blue suit. It doesn’t make you weak to need help dealing with things. He’s your best friend, he won’t judge you. He probably doesn’t even know how much you’re struggling.

Mac sighed, knowing deep down all of those things were true, and wanting so badly to start breaking down that barrier that had begun to form between Jack and himself but not knowing where to start. If he was so good at putting things back together with chewing gum and a paper clip, why was he so useless when it came to putting relationships back together?

He stood in front of his mirror frowning. He looked the same as he always had but inside he felt like he had aged ten years in the past few months. 

He blew out a shaky breath as he smoothed down his tie. He reached over and felt around the top of his dresser but couldn’t find the tie pin Jack had given him years ago. It was right after they got back from Afghanistan and Jack found out Mac didn’t even have a suit. He dragged him downtown and forced him to try on a few until they got to the dark blue one he was currently wearing. He wasn’t sure about it at first but Jack told him the color brought out his eyes and the ladies would love it. It felt so much like what he always imagined hanging out with his dad would be like and so he bought it. Later that day, Jack handed him a small box from the same store and when Mac opened it, the tie pin was inside. It was plain silver with a small M engraved at the end. 

“The ‘M’ stand for Mac.” Jack explained. Not for MacGyver, the identity he shared with his father, but Mac – the identity he claimed for himself. Even though they had known each other for a little over a year at that point, it was the first time Jack had called him Mac. Before that, it had been nothing but insults at first, then a nickname, then MacGyver, but never Mac. 

That stupid little piece of metal had been important to Mac, had been the beginning of a lifelong, unshakable friendship, and now it was gone. Mac remembered sadly that he had had to use it in one of his builds. It had saved their lives but he had sacrificed the one material object Jack had given him to do it when the year before Mac had flat out refused to use anything from his father’s watch. No wonder Jack had grown distant from him. He felt sorry for himself because no one followed him when he stormed out and yet, when had he showed Jack the same respect? 

He reached into this pockets, searching for the ever-present paperclips he stored in all his pockets at all times, and pulled one out before fastening it to his tie. It would have to do, for now. He grabbed the already packed duffle bag off his bed and opened the door. 

Jack’s head was bobbing to the music in his head as he checked each bag to make sure they had everything they were going to need. Mac smiled at his friend, at the happiness radiating off him. It was infectious, Jack’s amusement. Mac had a tendency to get lost in his own mind, and Jack was really good at bringing him back to life without even realizing he was doing it. 

“All right,” Mac said, trying to climb his way back out of the hole he had just dove into. If he was going to use this trip as a way to fix his fractured relationship with the most important person in his life, he couldn’t recede back into his protective shell. “Happy now?”

Jack zipped up the bag he was rifling through and glanced up, his face immediately breaking into a full-on grin. 

“Now, that’s more like it.” He said happily. “We’re going to Vegas in style, we’re gonna own that bitch.” 

“Jack,” Mac couldn’t help but laugh. Yes, this was exactly what they needed; a full weekend to get away from the stresses of their daily lives and simply live a little. Jack was always telling him there was more to life than missions and pain, and Mac wanted to believe that was true. They hadn’t had the best luck in the past with trying to cash in on a little down time. Hell, the last time they tried to go on a vacation Mac ended up almost bleeding to death in the snow, or freezing to death, both almost got him in the end but Jack had pulled through and saved him once again. His hand rubbed against the scar in his side absentmindedly. 

“What?” Jack asked. “I think we deserve this, don’t you, man? I mean, hell, I know you remember what happened last time.” 

“Of course,” Mac said, letting his hand fall back to his side. “Going to Vegas sounds great. 

“Then let’s go, homie.” Jack said, picking up his phone and pulling Mac’s arm until they were standing side by side. “Now say cheese, will ya. I wanna commentate this moment.” 

“It’s commemorate,” Mac corrected immediately and Jack winked. 

“If you say so,” Jack said. “And I changed my mind, on three say Vegas – okay?” 

“Okay,” Mac said and Jack lifted his phone so they were both in frame. 

“You ready? On three – one, two, three, Vegas!’ 

Jack snapped the picture as soon as he saw Mac let himself truly smile. 

It wasn’t very often he saw such a thing anymore. The kid had been wound tight lately as life threw him every curveball possible. 

Jack wanted to be there for him more. He knew how hard the whole thing with Oversight was for Mac, how lost and hurt the kid was still feeling. That’s why he pushed for this trip, practically threatened to quit if Matty didn’t approve their time off request and promise to only call them in the event of a real, live zombie apocalypse. 

Something was going on inside that big ol’ brain of his, something slowly eating away at Mac piece by piece and Jack was afraid that one day he was going to look up and see that the kid had disappeared completely. 

There were a lot of things in his life Jack regretted, more than he could count honestly. But one of the biggest was letting Mac go out that door and not immediately following him wherever the hell the kid needed to go to escape his old man. 

That wasn’t how Jack wanted Mac to find his dad. Mac hadn’t told him the whole story but he knew enough to know that whatever had been said in that burning lab before Jack drove the truck through the wall had been bad. Mac hadn’t been the same since and all Jack wanted to do was whatever it took to get his boy back. 

Jack had been pulled away from his family, from his best friend, too many times lately. This was the best way he could think of to show that things could go back to the way they had been before. He just had to get Mac to really talk to him, let him back in to ease some of the burden from that brilliant mind. 

“Hold on,” Mac said immediately. “Let me try that again.” 

Jack pulled the phone away quickly. There was no way in hell he was letting the kid delete the first truly happy image of Mac he had seen in a long, long time. Jack knew he had somehow managed to catch a glimpse of Mac unguarded and he wasn’t going to give him a chance to reenact those walls. 

“No, no, it’s a good one.” Jack insisted. 

“Let me see it.” Mac said, grimacing in a rare show of nervous self-doubt. 

“It’s a keeper, trust me.” Jack said, shoving the phone in his pocket securely. Mac simply shrugged, as he adjusted the paperclip holding his tie in place. It was so completely Mac it made Jack smile a little. Damn that kid had a way of worming into your heart and taking up residency there forever. “And, with that, the seven-year Manniversary trip to Sin City is officially underway. Congratulations!” 

He followed Mac as he walked to the counter and put his wallet and little red knife away in his pockets. Jack didn’t even question why the kid thought he would need his knife on their vacation. No matter what, it always seemed to come in handy.   
“Yeah.” Mac said. “I don’t mean to dampen your mood, but I’m pretty sure I met you seven and a half years ago, ‘cause I…” 

“Yeah, but the Manniversary doesn’t commemorate the first time we met, dude. It commemorates the first time you stopped being annoying, remember? Cause, like, for the first six months I wanted to kick your ass. Like, I really wanted to choke you out. Remember?” 

Mac smiled, amusement lightening his eyes. “I’m glad you clarified that.” 

“Anytime.” Jack told him, before checking out to make sure the kid’s suit looked presentable. This was Vegas, baby, not some puny little casino out in the middle of nowhere. “Now straighten your tie. Let’s go get a lint roller or something. I don’t know what’s going on here. And where’s your hat? I thought we were doing the Rat Pack thing? Let’s go.”

Jack watched as Mac’s amusement grew and grew. That was good. As he watched more and more of the tension leave Mac’s shoulders Jack knew phase one was well underway. 

“I don’t know about the hat.” Mac said. “But I do dig the Rat Pack vibe. I love the suits but why are we already wearing them.” 

“Cause we want to show up in style, like real men.” Jack told him. “That’s what real men do when they go to Vegas. Show we mean business the moment our feet hit the Strip.” 

“Real men show up in wrinkled suits?” Mac asked, squinting over at Jack in confusion. “And since when are we not like real men in our daily lives? What does that even mean, anyway?” 

“Of course we’re always real men but we don’t get the chance to be Vegas-Real, Rat Pack men very often.” Jack explained before reaching down and picking up one of his bags. “Also, I brought a portable steamer. Yeah, I got it all covered. All you have to do is sit back, relax, and enjoy some well-deserved time off.”

Please kid, trust me like you used to. You need this more than anyone and I can’t watch you dive deeper and deeper down the hole your big ol’ brain’s digging for you until I can’t reach down and pull you out anymore. Mac simply shook his head, his smile still present but it was clear he was simply humoring Jack at this point. 

“Yeah, until Matty calls us in for another mission.” Mac was hiding it well but Jack could see the exhaustion behind his bright blue eyes. There was a weariness that stemmed from too many close calls, too many burdens, too many never-ending disasters. 

“I got that covered, too.” Trust me; let me take some of that burden off your shoulders, kid. “All I had to do was explain the sacred nature of the Manniversary, and she promised me she wouldn’t call us unless we were the only ones standing in the way of the apocalypse. I don’t mean like the end of the world. I mean the zombie apocalypse – the real one.”

“Oh,” Mac said and Jack opened the door. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy to sneak in through the back door of Mac’s ironclad defenses but he had done it before so it had to be possible to do it again. Jack silently promised Mac that he would try to help fix whatever had broken inside the kid and he would stand by that. He knew his mission well, and he was willing to put the same amount of effort into this one as he was any other one he had been assigned. 

“Get fired up.” Jack extended his closed fist, watching Mac closely as the kid hesitated for only a second before smiling brightly. 

“All right.” Mac said, his own excitement building now that they were heading out the door. He tapped his fist lightly against Jack’s and followed him outside and to the car. 

Traffic was unusually light as they made their way out of the city. As soon as they hit the open road, Mac let himself relax into his seat a little more. There were no missions, nothing to do at all except for enjoy the next few days. Mac could do that, it had been a long time since he had been allowed to shut out the rest of the world and only focused on the here and now. 

“First, we’re gonna check in at the Excalibur, where I have reserved the much-coveted Lancelot Suite. Then we begin our tour of the best buffets on the Strip. Spoiler alert: there’s eight of them! Followed up by a ride on the fastest roller coaster in Las Vegas.” 

“Wait, wait.” Mac stopped him; there was no way that was the actual plan. That was insane. Why would they spend that much money on food only to barf it all up immediately after? “You want to ride a roller coaster after we’ve eaten at eight buffets?” 

“Mm, I love a good challenge.” Jack hummed, immediately ignoring all rational concern. They wanted to have fun on this vacation, right? “Then we put that big brain of yours to work on the blackjack table.”

“Nope,” Mac had to cut in again. That was one of his personal rules he never broke. “We talked about this, counting cards is cheating.”

“If you get caught,” Jack tried on more time. “We’re not gonna get caught. Stop interrupting. So, after we win big on the table, we’re gonna celebrate with a 32-ounce, bone-in, tomahawk porterhouse. Yeah, and finally, ending our first night with a show, a show of your choosing.” 

Wait, all of those plans were just for the first night? Also, Jack had the whole trip planned out so thoroughly, Mac was surprised he was getting to pick anything. It didn’t matter. He would go through Jack’s crazy buffet-roller coaster-steak dinner-Vegas show extravaganza without complaint. It was the least he could do after everything, and Jack seemed so happy about it all. 

“What? I get to choose?” 

“Yeah.” Jack told him casually. “As long as it’s the Legends of Metal tribute or the Blue Man Group, which, really, I men there is no choice there. It’s the Legends of Metal the whole way, right?” 

“No argument there.” Mac said. There was a part of him that really just wanted to rest during these days off, honestly he felt like he could sleep for a week and had no idea where Jack had the physical or mental energy to do all of those things but he would try to have as much fun as possible. Still, he had to at least ask. “Does this itinerary involve any pool time? Maybe day two? I’d like to do some actual relaxing on this trip.” 

“Mac, we’re from SoCal. We can relax, soaking up rays by the pool, anytime. This is Las Vegas, baby. We got to turn it up!” 

“Except we never do any of that, because anytime we try to relax…”

The car came out of nowhere. 

The words were ripped out of Mac’s throat as the SUV slammed into the side of their vehicle and all of the air was forced from his lungs. 

The crashing sound was horrible, twisting metal and breaking glass permeating the quiet desert and neither of them had a chance to hold on or think or react in any way at all as their bodies were whipped around like ragdolls. 

Mac felt the pain all along his right side as the door crumpled in against him and his head smashed into the window breaking the rest of the glass with the sheer force of the impact. 

It seemed to go on forever before they finally came to a crushing stop, their car hissing unhappily as the battered metal settled. 

Mac’s vision flickered in and out, his head against the empty frame of the window and he blinked the unrelenting sunlight out of his eyes to no avail. He couldn’t move at first, his whole body twitching from the shock of pain igniting every single cell in his body. 

He could feel his breathing coming out in harsh gasps and forced his eyes to trail over to Jack who was just starting to pick himself up from where he was draped over the steering wheel. 

“Uhhh,” Jack groaned. “Not again.” 

Jack pressed a hand to his bloody forehead and blinked rapidly to clear his vision. When his eyes finally met Mac’s, he froze. 

“Geez, kid, you okay?” Jack asked. Mac could only gasp in response, his chest tight as his rapidly fluttering heart pounded away beneath his ribcage. “Okay, just stay still. Did you just get the wind knocked out of ya or is it something more serious, be honest with me now, you hearing me?” 

Mac wanted to answer but he didn’t know and the lack of oxygen was sending Jack further down a long, dark tunnel. He blinked, swallowing hard, as he tried to fight the impending blankness coming his way but there was no fighting the inevitable. He could try but he wasn’t going to win. 

He felt his hair get pulled back as something metal was pressed to his exposed throat. 

“Get off him you son of a bitch,” Jack seethed. Mac forced his eyes open and was greeted by the sight of a man wearing a black mask. The eyes behind the mask were cold and dark, they almost looked dead. He knew who it was immediately. Mac felt his eyes slowly start to roll back into his head as he stared at those familiar dead eyes. 

“We have got to stop meeting this way, MacGyver .” 

That was the last thing Mac heard before something plastic was shoved over his face. There was a very familiar smell in the mask that Mac couldn’t quite place, but before he had enough time to figure it out the darkness descended completely and he was gone.

To Be Continued.


	2. Chapter 2

Mac had clawed his way out of unconsciousness enough times to know that there were several ways it could happen.

There was the slow crawl, fluttering eyes and trembling limbs, as the brain slowly rebooted and the world came back in unsteady, swirling colors until clarity finally returned. 

Then, there was the jump scare, one minute out like a light and the next barreling back into awareness in an adrenaline fueled jolt of dizzying confusion. 

Then there was the in-and-out, the ebb and flow of consciousness flickering and extinguishing between one breath and another. 

The first usually happened when he was left to wake on his own or was gently pulled back to reality by someone trusted, usually Jack. The second was often the result of a captor slapping him awake or at the end of a mission when he still had to protect his team. The third only happened when he was far more injured or significantly drugged. 

This time, it was a combination of all three. He remembered awareness returning slowly in a trunk.. Distant whistling that made him close his eyes and grit his teeth. 

Not him again. 

He could feel the solid, reassuring weight of Jack tucked in beside him and let his head roll against what felt like Jack’s shoulder. 

“Mac?” Mac sighed when he heard Jack’s voice. It wasn’t muffled and Mac realized that the plastic mask that had been shoved over his face was gone. Jack must have been able to remove them, that’s why he had been able to wake up. 

“Jack,” Mac groaned as his ribs were jostled by a particularly jarring pothole. 

“Yeah, bud, it’s me.” Jack whispered. “How you doing, man? You weren’t waking up very fast.”

“Where are we?” Mac simply asked. He wished he could get his arms free from the restraints securing them behind his back so he could wrap them protectively around his aching torso. His head hurt, too. The whole right side of his face felt raw and sore. There was something wet and warm running down his cheek into the hollow of his neck. He had had enough head wounds to know they bled a lot so he was simply grateful for the warmth. The rest of his body shivered against the chill. 

“Trunk,” Jack answered succinctly. “Murdoc got us, man. I’m sorry, I didn’t even see him coming.” 

“We were on vacation, Jack.” Mac told him. “We weren’t at work. You don’t have to be on all the time.”

“With our luck I’d say I do.” Jack said. sourly “Be honest while we can still talk freely. Where are you hurt? He hit your side pretty hard. And I can tell you ain’t feelin’ so hot so don’t even try lyin’ to me.” 

“I’m fine,” Mac insisted. “Really.” 

His little charade was cut short when they hit another particularly nasty pothole and he couldn’t stop the grunt of pain that was forced from his lungs when his abused ribs crashed back against the bottom of the trunk. 

“Real fine,” Jack gritted. The world shuddered around them as the gravel beneath the tires became looser before they finally slid to a jarring stop. The car shifted as someone got out and the muffled thud of the car door slamming shut was followed by crunching footsteps. The continued eerie whistling caused another shiver to rush through Mac’s body. There was the sound of jingling keys and then the trunk popped open, light rushing in to temporarily blind the agents. Murdoc smiled down at them. 

“You two aren’t supposed to be awake yet.” Murdoc tisked. “But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

When he got no response, Murdoc cocked his head to the side, his black eyes scanning Jack’s appearance and then Mac’s. His eyes lingered longer on Mac, taking in his paler than normal complexion and guarded posture. 

“I should really learn to be more careful with my toys.” 

“Screw you,” Jack seethed, trying to shield Mac from Murdoc as much as he could in the confined space. It wasn’t much. 

“Oh, don’t worry Jack, I don’t plan on hurting dear Angus, at least any more than I already have. No, his future pain depends on something else entirely.” 

“I ain’t letting you or anyone else near him.” Jack said

“Jack, I’m hurt.” Murdoc said. “MacGyver is my nearest and dearest friend. I would never let anyone else harm a single blond hair on his head.” Murdoc pressed a gloved hand to his own chest, his pressed-lipped smile seemed almost - honored. “That privilege is all mine, remember?”

“Go to hell.” Jack said again. 

“So hostile.” Murdoc said. “But like I said, I’m going to put you both to sleep again but when you wake up you just have to do exactly as you’re told and our favorite blond boy scout won’t have to feel another ounce of pain.” Murdoc held up a boy scout salute. “I give you my word.” 

Mac could only watch as Murdoc hummed happily to himself, a respite from the whistling if anything, and gathered up their discarded masks. He placed the first one over Mac’s face again and the world dipped around him. He could hear Jack’s voice but couldn’t make out the words through the cotton that had taken up residence in his head. His vision faded just as Murdoc reached over him to place the second mask back on Jack’s face. 

He didn’t see anything after that. 

The second time he returned to consciousness, he swam back toward awareness for a moment before jolting the rest of the way. This time, they were in a dark room with only a solitary light in the center of the ceiling. It was cold in the room and smelled like deep Earth and dampness. There was water trickling down one of the walls, he could hear it splattering against the floor in the corner. The gas mask was still over his face and he pulled it off quickly, throwing it to the side for now. He was barefoot and his jacket was gone. When he tried to sit up it pulled on his ribs and he couldn’t help the groan that escaped. He curled around them protectively, his arm guarding them. There was something heavy around his neck. He reached for it and felt a smooth, metal band securely clasped around his throat. 

Where was he?

Where was Jack?

Forgetting his own pain, he jerked his head to the side to find Jack sprawled out beside him. He reached forward, wincing uncomfortably, and knocked the mask off Jack’s face. His hand fell to Jack’s shoulder and he tried to shake him awake.

“Ja-” As soon as he started to say the older man’s name he heard the snap of electricity before he felt his muscles tense against the sharp jolt at his neck. He cried out and fell back to the ground as the collar shocked him again. His whole body tensed, back spasming painfully, and he couldn’t breathe. He bit his lip until it bled to stop from making any more sounds. 

“Mac? What the hell?” Jack’s voice filtered through as the collar stopped shocking him and he was released from the muscle seizing pain. Mac simply lay there and breathed, his eyes closed and teeth gritted enough that he was marginally afraid it might cause damage. “Hey, say something, man, you’re scaring the hell out of me.” 

Mac took a second to breathe before opening his eyes again. He sat up gingerly to find Jack hovering as close to him as he could manage. He simply pointed to the collar and shook his head. 

“What the hell is that, dude?” Jack asked, squinting at the smooth metal as if trying to activate previously hidden x-ray vision to see inside it. Jack reached for his own neck and frowned when he didn’t find the same device on him. Whatever it was the honor was reserved for Mac alone.

With a clenched jaw, Mac simply mimed getting shocked. Jack’s mounting horror increased at the implications. 

“You usually suck at charades but I got that one loud and clear.” Jack told him. “You talk you get shocked, huh?” 

Mac nodded with a shrug. He only tried it once but he’s not itching to repeat the experience. 

“Well,” Jack said for the both of them. “I think our vacation is officially canceled.”

Mac rolled his eyes a little, his head still pounding in time with the rest of his aching body. 

You think?


End file.
